Zoning Board Denies Group Home for Addicts

The Pottstown Zoning Board has denied requested permissions needed to make 441 King St. into a group home for recovering addicts.

The Pottstown Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday night voted unanimously to deny two variances being sought by a company seeking to open a addiction recovery group home on the 400 block of King St.

The application was made by Jenise Mussleman, owner of JEM Home Solutions LLC.

The home would be run by Right Directions Living Recovery Home, which lists an address of 244 N. Charlotte St., already operates other recovery homes in the borough according to Matthew Murphy, founder and co-owner.

In fact Murphy said there are already 21 addiction recovery homes in Pottstown. One, approved last year by the zoning board, is just a block away from the headquarters, located in the 300 block of North Charlotte Street.

The zoning at 441 King St. permits a "group home" by special exception, a permission that is granted by the zoning hearing board if the application meets the conditions outlined in the zoning.

However, this application was seeking two additional variances, one regarding inadequate parking, which might have become moot, and another seeking permission to have 10 (or 12, depending on how you count them) people living there when the zoning would only allow six.

Mussleman said most residents of addiction recovery homes are not in a position to own a car, thus making the requirement for eight off-street parking spaces unnecessary.

"There is a lot of value in the service these homes provide," said Mussleman. "It's interesting we're focused on things like parking when we should be focusing on what's important."

Nevertheless, Mussleman presented the zoning board with a copy of an agreement to lease eight additional parking spaces from a Chestnut Street property owner across the alley from her King Street property.

Those spaces would have allowed the zoning code's parking requirements to be met, but the zoning board made not of the fact that the agreement was not dated and had length of term noted there.

The applicant's central argument for a variance for how many people can live in the home seemed to center around the fact that their business model would not be successful with only six residents.

But local real estate investor Robert Larkin testified that is not adequate reason grant a variance.

The Zoning Hearing Board takes testimony Wednesday night.

The zoning code limits the number of people in a building to limit density, he argued. "There is an incredible amount of push-back from the borough when people try to sub-divide their homes into apartments," said Larkin, who owns and rents a home at 238 N. Evans St.

"If they are granted a variance because their business model says they need more residents, as a property investor, that should apply to me as well and I should be able to cut up a home into more apartments to make a better return on my investment," Larkin said.

He said he believes the work the recovery home is doing is valuable. "I think you do amazing work," but added that he is opposed to allowing the density rules to waived for that reason.

Property owner Phillip Chen presented the zoning board with a petition with 20 signatures of neighbors opposed to the application.

He read from the petition noting that the block is home to many long-time residents and children and it would be "inconceivable" to allow a group home for recovering addicts to be established there.

Questioning Chen, Mussleman asked where he thought group homes should be located.

Chen replied, "it's not my decision. But we don't want one in our neighborhood. Period."

Mike Wilson, a general manager for Right Directions Living, said his group homes actually help drive off street-level drug dealing.

"The corner of Evans and Lincoln used to be a drug corner, and we have a house there," Wilson testified. "But now the dealers know to stay away. We've made it clear we don't want their riff-raff around."

He said the recovery home is "a sober house, not a group home. It's a bunch of guys living together, holding each other accountable, keeping each other clean."

Murphy is himself a recovering addict and said "living in a recovery home saved my life. I went from living nowhere to having a home with my kids and a job."

In addition to that job, Murphy also oversees the house managers, or "staff," at the recovery homes. That staff is comprised of recovering addicts who have done well. Their pay, said Murphy, is free rent and free food.


Ironically, the King Street property is the former home of housing activist Katy Jackson and her husband David.

David Jackson served on the Mosaic Community Land Trust board and Katy Jackson published an anti-blight blog called "The Golden Cockroach," which often assailed landlords for not maintaining properties or adequately screening tenants. That blog is no longer open to the public.

According to Montgomery County property records, the Jacksons sold the home, which they had renovated, to JEM Home Solutions of Harleysville on June 6 for $107,500.

After testimony was completed Wednesday night, the zoning hearing board went into executive session with their solicitor, R. Kurtz Holloway, to deliberate. They emerged about 20 minutes later and voted unanimously to deny the variances being sought for parking and additional residents.

As a result of not having those variances, the application for the special exception was then also subsequently denied unanimously.

Mussleman, Murphy and Wilson politely thanked them for their time.

Here are the Tweets from the second half of the hearing (I missed the first half covering the regional planning meeting in the next room which was the subject of yesterday's post):

Addiction Recovery Group Home Denied

A Sobering Decision for North Charlotte Street

Photos by Evan Brandt

As the result of a unanimous zoning hearing board decision, this "sober living" home at 306 N. Charlotte St. will soon be a home to eight recovering male addicts.

A unanimous vote by the borough's zoning hearing board Thursday night cleared the way for a six-bedroom house in the 300 block of North Charlotte Street to house eight recovering male addicts.

The building is already home to four recovering addicts, said Jacob Ballou, himself a recovering addict who testified about the program at the house.

Although Pottstown Borough Council had opposed the application on the basis of the parking variance being sought -- the code requires four spaces for eight residents -- that opposition became moot.

Jacob Ballou testifies in last night's zoning hearing.

As the hearing got underway Thursday night, attorney Joseph McGrory informed the board that his
client had obtained a lease at a neighboring property for additional parking and thus the application complied with the zoning code.

Without the need for a variance, that left McGrory with only the requirement of proving the home met all of the conditions for the "special exception" by which the zoning code allows group homes.

Ballou and his mother, Kerry Ballou, who owns the house, explained the rules the residents must follow.

Unlike many group homes in the borough, which are sponsored by a non-profit or government agency, this home is entirely the construct of the Ballou family and all residents are voluntary. None are there as the result of a court-ordered recovery.

Despite the rental of the extra spaces, some residents said they still believe parking will be a problem, and at least one said she shares the opinion posted on Facebook by a resident who said living next to a sober home on York Street is unpleasant and loud.

Two speakers, one a resident of the North Charlotte Street home, one not, spoke in favor of sober homes and said since the people who live there "are trying to get their lives back together," they often cannot afford a car.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting:

Cluster Loses First Zoning Battle

Mercury File Photo by John Strickler

The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities wants to convert 61 N. Franklin St., known as the former Wainman Mansion, into office space for its operation and housing program. The zoning hearing board will decide if that's allowed in a series of hearings.

Despite what many may say about another property off the tax rolls, the current controversy over the Cluster's application to uses this grand old Victorian as office space really has nothing to do with keeping this property on the tax rolls.

That ship sailed last fall.

The borough and the school district both opposed making it tax exempt, and they lost.

Now already declared tax exempt by the Montgomery County Board of Assessment Appeals, the matter at hand is much more specific  and technical and essentially boils down to one thing: what is a "client-based social service provider?"

That is the phrase on which zoning officer Maria Gerber-Bleile hung her hat when she denied the zoning application by the Cluster. The current zoning ordinance specifically forbids that type of office in the Traditional Town Neighborhood zone in which the building is located.

The Cluster's strategy to overcome that obstacle is, or at this point "was," two-fold.

First, ask the zoning board to interpret the code and decide whether Gerber-Bleile was right in applying that definition to what the Cluster has proposed to do.

They did and they decided she was.

Had they decided the definition didn't apply, that would have been the end of it and no variance would have need been sought by the Cluster.

Which brings us to the second fold.

Now that they have decided the definition does apply, the hearings will have to continue and the Cluster must convince the zoning board that a variance should be granted.

The next hearing during which that case will be begun will take place on Tuesday, June 14.

That's it in a nutshell.

Now, if you're a fan of zoning testimony, or want to watch videos of 1) Zoning solicitor R. Kurtz Holloway reading objection letters from borough council and the school board; 2) Kenn Picardi's opening statement on behalf of the Cluster; or 3) Cluster Executive Director Barbara Wilhelmy reading the definition in question, then by all means, proceed on the Tweets.

(Those who do will find a somewhat unusual surprise at the end ....)

'No' to Cluster Zoning Support, And a Giant Chicken

You never know who you're going to run into
on the streets of Pottstown.

I've lived in Pottstown long enough now, that I was only mildly surprised to be addressed by a giant chicken with Gene Dugan's head as I made my way down North Hanover Street to Monday night's borough council meeting.

And when he showed up at borough hall and joined me in the elevator, I barely batted an eye.

"Hey, it's Pottstown," I said.

But as amusing as it was, Dugan was there with a serious purpose.

He was helping his wife Sheila, who happens to be the director of the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority, promote the pending FARM Market that opens on High Street May 5.

A good sport (and, I daresay, a good husband), he was even sure to flap his wings gently while Sheila outlined the plans to council for the first day of the market.

(Look for a story about the Chili Cook-off that will help kick-off the farmers market in an upcoming edition of The Mercury.)

And yes, I shot video for those of you who crave more giant chicken in your life, just scroll down through the Tweets, you'll see it.

But as good news as that is, the headline news from last night's council meeting is most likely the 6-1 vote by council to send a letter opposing variance requests being sought by the Cluster of Religious Communities for the former Wainman Mansion on North Franklin Street.

The Cluster, which operates a food pantry and clothing center at its Outreach Center next door (in the former American Legion Post) bought the property last year, took it off the tax rolls and is now asking for variances to convert it into offices, classrooms and meeting rooms.

The Cluster has pledged to pay 25 percent of its borough tax bill, but has made no such pledge about the much larger school tax bill.

Only Councilman Ryan Procsal, in whose ward the building sits, proposed that borough council stay out of it and let the zoning hearing board handle it as best they saw fit.

Not only did the rest of council believe otherwise, but Councilman Dennis Arms, who made the motion to oppose the Cluster's variance request, went so far as to say "I would rather see the building vacant"  -- a remarkable statement from an elected official who says he wants to revitalize Pottstown.

But like I said before, "hey, it's Pottstown."

Giant chickens walk the streets here.

Decision Makes Fecera's a 'Yes' Parking Zone

Wednesday night's zoning hearing board meeting was among the speediest I have ever attended and they got down to the heart of the matter right away.

In two unanimous decisions, the three zoning hearing board members approved parking and sign variances for the Fecera's project.

For those of you who have been sleeping for the past three years, that project seeks to convert the slowly crumbling former Fecera's Furniture warehouse at Beech and North Evans Streets, into apartments for artists.

It will also (hopefully) be the new home of Pottstown's signature art school and gallery, ArtFusion 19464.

A rendering of what a finished Fecera's, now called

Beech Street Factory, would look like.

The hearing was necessary because despite meeting previous parking requirements through the pending purchase and razing of two buildings for more parking, borough council adopted new more expanded parking rules.

Had the board failed to grant the variances, the project would have died after three years of work and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees, plans and bureaucracy.

The sign variance will allow two new painted signs on the building. Even though they are larger than allowed in zoning, they are smaller than the signs on the building now.

Now it must still get land development approval from the Pottstown Planning Commission, final approval from borough council, and building permits and the like.

The board also dealt with two other smaller matters, granting a variance for siding to be put around a brick home on State Street and denying a request to allow Chestnut Street widow to rent two of rooms in her house for extra income.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting.

Fate of Fecera's Project Rides on Parking Ruling

Grainy photos by Evan Brandt

An artist's rendering shows what a renovated Fecera's building would look like after a $13 million renovation.

In end, three years of struggle, hundreds of thousands of dollars and what is likely the last chance to see a former factory in the center of town end up as something other than a pile of bricks may come down to a last-minute change in the borough's parking rules.

Wednesday, the intrepid developers who want to spend $13 million to turn the former Fecera's Furniture warehouse at the corner of Beech and North Evans street into affordable apartments for artists were forced to plead their case -- again -- to another borough agency.

The 3 men who will decide the fate of the Fecera's project are,
from left, 

Mark Patrizi, chairman, Jay Harp and
alternate Doug Lenhart.

This time, they had to convince three members of the Pottstown Zoning Hearing Board -- Mark Patrizi, Jay Harp and alternate Doug Lenhart -- that the parking rules that were in place when the project received a conditional use from borough council last May, should be the ones applied to their project.

Under those rules, the developers' good-faith attempts to obtain more parking to address the concerns expressed by council and the neighbors, would have born fruit, providing more spaces than that ordinance required.

But council pulled a fast-one and increased the parking requirements for rental properties after granting the conditional approval.

Under the new rules, instead of needing 65 total spaces (they have created 59 of them off-street), Genesis Housing and Housing Visions of Syracuse, N.Y. would need 98.

A variance is also being sought to allow these 3 signs on the building.

William Kerr, the Norristown attorney hired to present the case to the zoning board, argued the previous ordinance should be the one applied.

However, he argued, if the zoning board decides the new rules should apply, a variance should be granted because the new rules make the property unusable.

Heather Schroeder, the project coordinator for Housing Visions, put it more bluntly.

If the zoning hearing board rules against them and won't grant a variance, "we will have to walk away because the project will be impossible."

The three-hour hearing ended around 11 p.m. without the zoning board making a decision.

Solicitor R. Kurtz Holloway said the board has another hearing next Wednesday, Sept. 2, and expects to announce a decision at that meeting.

In the meantime, here are the Tweets from last night's hearing.

South Street Boarding House Rejected

Photo by Evan Brandt

The zoning hearing board last night denied the application for a variance and special exception which would have allowed the rectory and convent at the former St. Peter's Church on South Street to be converted into board houses.

I could be mean.

I could make you troll all the way down to the bottom of the Tweets to the last one, made around 10:15 p.m., to find out what happened at last night's Zoning Hearing Board meeting.

But, as the headline and photo caption have already told you, the board unanimously denied Higher Ground International's application for a special exception to open a boarding house for veterans and church members at the South Street property once occupied by St. Peter's Catholic Church.

And that's mostly what you came here to find out didn't you?

Maybe you're here to listen to what former Sixth Ward Councilman and Mayor Edmund Skarbek said:




Or maybe you are interested in what the current Sixth Ward Councilman, Travis Gery, had to say.



Or perhaps you are interested in how it progressed and who showed up. If so, by all means read on.

But I think we both know that now that you now what you wanted to know, you're going to get on with your day.

Thanks for stopping by, here are the Tweets.

Getting to Know the Neighbors

Photo by Evan Brandt

The former St. Peter's Church, has been purchased by a 

Conshohocken church named Higher Ground International.

The pastor and members of Higher Ground Church International, which has purchased the former St. Peter's Church and school on South Street, met with neighbors Tuesday night to assuage fears that the Conshohocken-based church plans to open a homeless shelter or boarding house.

Well actually, they do want to open a boarding house, two in fact; one in the former convent and one in the former rectory.

But rather than house homeless or random people off the street, the plan is to have one-year leases and specialize in housing veterans, Pastor Steve Martin told the dozen or so neighbors who accepted the church's invitation circulated Sunday in the neighborhood.

A Frequently-Asked-Questions sheet answered many of the neighborhoods questions before they were asked, but the group kept Martin busy answering questions for about 90 minutes nevertheless.

Most of the answers to those questions can be found in the Tweets below.

In the Right Zone

Much-Too-Fuzzy Photo by Evan Brandt

Ashraf Khalil, front right, and his lawyer, 

Peter Dolan, gather in borough hall after the 

variance was granted by the zoning hearing board.

So first of all, sometimes I hate my iPhone.

Why the picture on the right is not in focus, I cannot tell you. What I can tell you is it pisses me off.

Anyway, last night Ashraf Khalil won a variance from the zoning hearing board to continue doing what, evidently, lots and lots of people like that he is doing at the iCreate Cafe in the 100 block of King Street.

He won permission to operate his cafe of what, by all testimony, is delicious vegetarian food as well as run his computer training classes.

Now normally, this post would stay up all day but there is a benefit on Saturday for two young children who suffer from muscular dystrophy.

So I have taken the unusual step of posting two blogs today, but this one had to be first because it was so encouraging to see so many people demonstrating in-person what a "destination" business is, and to spend their evening supporting it.

And, from all testimony, it seems Mr. Khalil of all people will be most willing to share his moment in the blogsphere spotlight with a worthy cause.

We congratulate Mr. Khalil on his success, both in business, in friends and with the zoning board.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting.

We're Naming Names

Last night, borough council undertook the annual task of making appointments to boards, authorities, commissions and committees.

No incumbent seeking re-appointment was turned away and none of those who currently hold no post and applied were selected.

First, and perhaps of the highest importance, was a five-year seat on the Pottstown Borough Authority, the entity which oversees operation, maintenance and upgrades to the water and sewer systems which serve not only Pottstown, but also Lower, Upper and West Pottsgrove.

Aram Ecker, who has just completed one five-year term, was re-appointed with only one nay vote. Councilwoman Sheryl Miller, who had also sought the seat, voted against Ecker's appointment.

For his part, Ecker, a local plumber, appeared before council and said he believes the current authority board is working well together as a team and has improved relations with the partners in the surrounding townships.

The next vote, for the Blighted Property Review Committee, crucial, as the name suggests, to fighting blighted property in the borough, the majority of which is located in the oldest section of town, the First Ward.

Appointed is the council member from the First Ward, Ryan Procsal, along with Councilman Dan Weand, former First Ward councilman Mark Gibson, and member-at-large, Cheryl Chiarello, who has been on the committee since it was created.

Vote on appointments to this committee, all of which carry one-year terms, was unanimous, even thought Miller had also sought an appointment to this group as well.

Ross Belovich, incumbent John Armato, and Susquehanna Bank employee Nicole Miller were all appointed to five-year terms on the Pottstown Downtown District Improvement Authority, which taxes downtown properties on High Street from York to Evans streets, and uses the money to clear snow and stage events to draw people downtown.

Also applying and not chosen was Mike LaBanca.

LaBanca also applied for the one open seat on the Potstown Zoning Hearing Board, a semi-judicial body charged with interpreting and providing relief from Pottstown's zoning code.

However council unanimously re-appointed Mark Patrizi to the three-year term.

Council President Stephen Toroney was unanimously appointed as Council's representative to the Pottstown Police Pension Board.

Councilwoman Carol Kulp was re-appointed as Pottstown's representative to the regional Council of Governments and Toroney and Procsal were unanimously supported for membership on the Pottstown Metropolitan Area Regional Planning Committee.

In addition to naming members of these autonomous and semi-autonomous groups, Toroney also announced his appointments to the various council committees. They are as follows:

• Ad hoc committee on borough garage: Toroney, Procsal and Councilman Joe Kirkland;
• Codes/Infrastructure Committee: Kulp, Procsal and Miller;
• Finance and Administration Committee: Weand, Toroney and Council Vice President Travis Gery, along with Borough Manager Mark Flanders, Assistant  Borough Manager Erica Weekley and Finance Director Janice Lee;
• Human Relations Commission: Mayor Sharon Thomas;
• Keystone/Western Gateway Ad Hoc Committee: Kulp and Weekley;
• Library Liaison: Arthur Green;
• PDIDA: Thomas;
• Pottstown Neighborhood Partnership: Procsal
• Ricketts Community Center Liaison: Kirkland;
• Safety/Fire Committee: Gery, Miller, Procsal;
• Transportation: Kulp, Miller, Procsal.

Vacancies to Fill

Although borough council wasted little time in filling the tax collector vacancy Wednesday night, there are still a few vacant positions up for grabs.

As part of the annual process of filling posts on boards and commissions, council will vote Monday on filling nine open spots, with a tent
h vacancy being filled in February.

One seat on the Pottstown Borough Authority is open and two people have applied to fill it. It is currently filled by plumber Aram Ecker, who is seeking a second five-year term. However, newly elected Borough Councilwoman Sheryl Miller has also asked to be appointed.

Sheryl Miller

With Miller's defeat of Jeff Chomnuk for the third ward seat on council, the authority board currently has no member of borough council, a role Chomnuk had filled.

Chomnuk remains a member of the authority board but, obviously, no longer is a member of borough council.

Miller has also asked to be appointed to the Blighted Property Review Committee, an organization that re-appoints four members every year and is charged with reviewing run-down properties in town and declaring them blighted in order to force the owners to repair them, or lose them.

That committee has traditionally been headed by Councilman Dan Weand and, in addition to a member of the codes department, also includes a resident of the borough and traditionally the council person for the first ward "since that's where most of the blighted properties are located," Council President Stephen Toroney explained Wednesday night.

If that tradition is to be followed, newly elected Councilman Ryan Procsal would be appointed.

There is one open seat on the Pottstown Zoning Hearing Board, which carries a three-year term, and incumbent Richard Patrizi has applied to be re-appointed. As of Wednesday night, there were no other applicants.

The Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority has three open seats, each of which carries a five-year term.

Ross Belovich

Three people, Nichole Taylor, John Armato and former mayoral candidate Ross Belovich are being
recommended for the seats by the PDIDA board, said Main Street Manager Sheila Dugan.

Newly elected Mayor Sharon Thomas is "automatically" a member, Toroney said Wednesday.

There is also one open seat on the Pottstown Planning Commission, but the term on that seat does not expire until Feb. 1.

Rosedale resident Jim Derr has asked to be re-appointed to another four-year term.

Miller had applied to be appointed to this post as well, but Toroney told her the planning commission cannot have more than two members of council and since he and Weand both already sit on that board, and their terms are not up, she cannot be appointed.

In theory, there is still time to apply to fill most of these posts, although there are certain requirements for the PDIDA position.

For a Few Dollars More

Photo by Evan Brandt

This building, the former Rosenberry's Supermarket and former McCabe's Auto Supply, will be knocked down and replaced with a new building to house a Family Dollar store according to information revealed at Wednesday night's borough council meeting.

A new building for a new Family Dollar Store is being planned for the site of the former McCabe's Auto Supply at 381 Farmington Ave.

(Of course, if you are a long-time resident of Pottstown, you will remember it as having been Rosenberry's Supermarket, but that was many years ago indeed.)

The news comes by way of Pottstown Borough Council, which, at Wednesday night's work session, indicated support for the developer's request for a zoning variance to allow a larger-than-allowed sign to be installed out front.

The matter is ultimately the decision of Pottstown's zoning Hearing Board, but council precedent says council can be neutral to a request, oppose it or support it.

Borough Council President Stephen Toroney said he intends to ask council to vote Monday on sending the zoning board a letter supporting the request.

Toroney said he and councilman Dan Weand, who both also sit on the planning commission, had already seen the plans.

"They're going to tear down what's there and put up a new building," Toroney said.

Photo by Evan Brandt

The building is located at the split between Farmington Avenue and 

North Hanover Street.

He said the planning commission voted to support the developer's request for relief from the restrictions of the sign ordinance.

"It's going to be a great project moving forward," said Toroney.

Weand agreed.

Specifically, the developers, Boos DEvelopment Group Inc., are seeking a variance to erect a 36-square-foot "monument sign" as well as two 30 square-foot wall signs on both sides of the building one 31 square-foot "medallion" sign.

According to the legal notice published in Tuesday's Mercury, the signs exceed the zoning code "regarding the maximum number of permitted signs, the total square footage of the signs and the maximum limitations of the individual signs."

Council will vote on Toroney's request for a letter of support at Monday night's council meeting, 7 p.m. Monday in the third-floor council meeting room of borough hall.

The zoning hearing board will consider the matter at its meeting on Wednesday, Augl 21 at 7 p.m. in the same room.

Photo by Evan Brandt

The new Sears store is in the space formerly occupied by 

Blockbuster Video

Should the variance be granted, the project must still received final site plan approval from both the planning commission and borough council.

That is not the only variance from the sign ordinance that the zoning board will consider at the Aug. 21 meeting.

Sears has also submitted a variance request seeking a variance form property at 223 Shoemaker Road.

There, permission is being sought to install a "free-standing pylon sign" whose proposed height exceeds the maximum allowed in the ordinance according to Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr.

Additionally, the free-standing sign, plus a wall sign planned, would together exceed the total sign area allowed under the ordinance.

Pottstown Appointments Made, Unanimously

Photo by Evan Brandt

Tom Carroll was re-appointed Monday 

At its regular meeting Monday, Pottstown Borough Council appointed nine citizens to six different boards, commissions and authorities.

Among the most significant, at least in terms of budget, were two appointments made to the Pottstown Borough Authority.

Incumbent member Tom Carroll was appointed to another five year term, expiring on Jan. 1, 2018.

Michael Benner was appointed to a two-year term, which expires Jan. 1, 2015, and fulfills the unexpired term of former Authority chairman Ronald Downie, who stepped down last year and was honored by council at its Wednesday, Jan. 9 meeting.

Councilman Jeff Chomnuk, who also serves on the authority board, said Benner would bring a "fresh perspective."

Photo by Evan Brandt

Mike Benner is the borough authority's

newest member.

Jay Harp was re-appointed to the Pottstown Zoning Hearing Board for a three-year term that expires on Jan. 1, 2016.

The four current members of the borough's Blighted Property Committee -- Councilman Dan Weand, Councilman Mark Gibson, Cheryl chiarello and Bill Sharon, were re-appointed for another year.

Incumbent Sue Storm was appointed to a five-year term on the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority. Her term expires on Jan. 1, 2018.

And Jim Derr, who also serves on the borough's Environmental Advisory Council, was named to the Vacancy board for a second one-year term.

All appointments were unanimous.